I want to be Perfect
Women feel as if they need to live for others, creating unnecessary stress in their lives.
Women must be thin.
Women must be “put together”
Women must be proper.
Women must always be smiling.
They are all confined to meeting the needs of society, but in order to live freely they must break through the socially constructed expectations. Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa affect women in many ways. One of the crucial ways young girls and women are affected is the need for perfection.
What is Autism?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain.
Some symptoms may include:
- Problems with social communication & interactions
- Restricted behaviors
- Repetitive behaviors and/or interests
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder that significantly interferes with one’s life.
Some Symptoms may include:
- Abnormally low body weight
- Intense fear of gaining weight
- Distorted perception of body weight
- High emphasis on controlling weight and body image
How do Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa relate?
The presence of ASD is a huge predictor of a chronic eating disorder. AN is associated with high levels of social and functional impairment. Autistic traits often overlap with AN, therefore Autistic traits may increase treatment resistance for those who have AN.
Both ASD and AN have characteristics of perfectionism, decline in executive functions and comorbidity. Those with ASD might strive for perfectionism in turn leading to the development of an eating disorder. Decline of executive functions can be attributed to an acute phase of starvation and not entirely to possible ASD.
Why are 4 times as many males diagnosed with Autism than women?
Female Protective Effect
The female protective theory was first brought about by Luke Tsai in the 1980s at the University of Michigan. It was found that autistic females on average have more relatives with autism and language impairments, or symptoms of ASD than Males do.
With this key finding, it is believed that Females need to inherit more genetic factors related to Autism for a diagnosis to occur.
At Healthy Within, we do not diagnose or medicate our patients but instead, curate individualized treatments for our patients.
Contact us for more information about how we can help you get your mind back to functioning at its calm, confident self.
